Total beginner looking for advice

I am sorry if this has been answered already, please don't shoot me right away...
I am so tired of my day job, and I would like to try something new.
I do not have a larger capital to invest, so I have a few questions.

1.) How much do I need to start investing?
2.) I have a ShareBuilder account, is that a good place to start?
3.) What software is good to monitor the market?
4.) And finally, how do I get info in what stocks to invest.

I hope you find it in your heart to help a total beginner.
I be happy to trade info for work. (I am a programmer)

Steve, welcome to ET. Given that you're a programmer, managed to complete the membership form, and posted questions here - the best advice for you at this time is to use the Search function found in the upper right of your screen. Elitetrader is full of opinions and facts about every one of your questions that you posted and many more that will come to mind.

If you have at least 500, you can open an account with scottrade, and with that, you'll be able to watch the market in real time (streaming). I use them too, however have much more than 500 . Most software is provided by the broker, but you can get screening tools, news, and other specialized packages from different vendors.

oh and welcome to ET, you're going to come across a lot of dicks here like TicketWatcher but don't let them bother you. I think you have to have a good understanding of how long term investing works before you start short term trading....just my opinion.

oh and welcome to ET, you're going to come across a lot of dicks here like TicketWatcher but don't let them bother you. I think you have to have a good understanding of how long term investing works before you start short term trading....just my opinion.

More...

What ticketwatcher wrote was actually pretty tame.

But you're right, there are a lot of ***holes who post on here, but I don't think TW is one of 'em.

Steve ... This is very good advice from jho. Yahoo finance is a decent free source of information on current makets as well as
some educational material. Exchanges have websites which offer education on trading/investing. For example

1.) How much do I need to start investing?You need at least 25k to start with stocks. More is better[i/b
2.) I have a ShareBuilder account, is that a good place to start?Depends on what style of trading you are doing. If it's active investing, check out Interactivebrokers.com
3.) What software is good to monitor the market?Quotetracker is great for a free program for someone that is just starting
4.) And finally, how do I get info in what stocks to invest.Hard to answer this - Maybe find a sector you like and learn it, then pick a group of stocks in that sector and learn them also.

I hope you find it in your heart to help a total beginner.
I be happy to trade info for work. (I am a programmer)